Mission The Department of History will prepare students to analyze major historical events, evaluate changes in values and institutions over time, assess complex forces at work in the past and today, and learn how, in written and oral expression, to explain those changes. In doing so, the department will prepare students for any career requiring critical and analytical skills. The Department of History considers itself a vehicle—through teaching, research and service—for presenting and critiquing the values of the past and for conveying those values and critiques to future generations.